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La La Anthony was recently named Residence Inn’s Resident Mother Of The Year

La La Anthony’s multi-hyphenated title already includes actress, best-selling author, Kardashani-bestie, NBA wifey to Carmelo Anthony, and mother (which has earned her Resident Mom Of the Year by Residence Inn). We’re just going to add “magician” to that after seeing her physics-defying feat at the red carpet for the Met Gala. In case you missed it, her gorgeous Nicolas Jebran scarlet dress had all the sexy-cut outs reminiscent of a certain J. Lo Grammys number. But how did she manage to keep it all…ahem…together? I sat down with her on that and the drugstore buys she can’t live without:

Your dress for the Met Gala was beautiful—but seriously how did you keep your boobs from spilling out? “That was crazy! That was literally crazy. That was a lot of tape holding everything together. But I saw this one picture and I just wanted to kill myself because I was on the steps, and you know those steps are hard to walk on so one of my shoulders was higher than the other and it looks like my boob was just sitting up here [motions with hand up to collarbone]. But you know what, I loved the dress, I think it looked amazing so I’m not going to beat myself up about my taped up boobs.”

So lots of tape and elegant walking? “Exactly. Just a lot of trying to stay balanced so it doesn’t look like my boobs were all the way up here.”

Do you have a drugstore buy you’re obsessed with? “Half the stuff I buy is from the drugstore! I can’t live without Neutrogena’s makeup wipes. I cannot. It’s the only thing that works for me to take my makeup off.”

Do you have a beauty guilty pleasure? “Something my mom passed on to me is that she thinks Vaseline works for everything and I’m starting to find that it does too. Taking makeup off, moisturizing. If you saw my mom before she goes to bed, you’d think, ‘What’s on your face?’ She’s greased out in Vaseline! My mom’s never had Botox or anything and her face is flawless. She’s like, ‘I just stick to my Vaseline.’ That’s become my thing too now.”

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I was SO excited to get some time to chat with designer Jonathan Adler. I’ve been a fan of his work since my days at Shop Etc., where he was a popular fixture in our Home section. He partnered up with Pond’sto design their travel vanity cases for their wipes and they are so chic — just as you’d expect from Adler.

Jonathan Adler-designed Pond’s cases

Check out my interview with Jonathan below!:

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“Makeup has always been the most inexpensive way to enhance my identity,” Jeannie Mai, beauty expert and talk show host of The Real tells me. “Even at the age of 36, I can still have confidence issues. That’s why it’s important for me to partner with companies like Unilever — they teach women to not only own their beauty, but to take it a step further and do good for the planet as well.”

Jeannie Mai, beauty & fashion expert and co-host of The Real, joins the Unilever “Rinse. Recycle. Reimagine.” movement and shows off how with just a rinse and recycle empty bath and beauty bottles can take on new life and return as new items like her stylish umbrella.

The queen of reinventing herself (seriously, she’s probably sported 3,000 different looks since I first met her four years ago in NY!), shared some of her beauty tips with me below!: Beauty and the Feast: How do you store your beauty products when you travel, and what do you make sure you take with you? Jeannie Mai: I love compacts, so I create my own. Once my old makeup products – blush or foundation compacts – are done, I rinse out the residue on the inside, then I use them to use my new concealers and lip glosses. For example, I finished this one blush compact, so I put new lip glosses in it, stuck it in the fridge, and it cools to make a new lip palette. I condense all my products, so I have a small makeup pouch. You can also purchase ones made of recycled material.

Once I travel, the number one thing I make sure I pack besides my lip colors is my Simple Micellar Cleansing Water. It’s the shiz! Especially when you’re traveling you don’t always have time to go to a sink and wash your face. As long as I have that cleansing water, it allows me to wash my face, so to speak, wipe off all my makeup and it leaves my skin feeling moisturized too. You know how when you’re on the plane your skin feels really tight? This is the only stuff that once I’ve cleansed my face it actually feels really moisturized and rejuvenated so I don’t have to put on additional moisturizer when I don’t have time.

Mai in West Hollywood

BATF: Do you have any beauty rituals on the plane? Mai: I always put a lumbar pillow on my seat for my back or even a rolled up sweater on the lower part of my back. I promise you it will make a world of difference. And I love oils or aromas, I use lavender oil on my wrist and neckline once I board. It smells so fresh and relaxing. BATF: What are some products you have in your bag right now? Mai: I always have a Dove bar because it removes my makeup and doesn’t irritate my skin. Even expensive hotels might have nice products but it has so much fragrance in them that it irritates my skin. I have eczema so this works best for me. I also carry a little Tom Ford perfume with me. And I love carrying Too Faced palettes — there also made of recycled products. I always support brands that do their part.BATF: What are some tips you learned on the set of The Real?Mai: My makeup artist, Uzmee, is always playing with glitter. And you know when you use glitter or any kind of sparkle and you get that one speck that travels down your face and just sticks there — like, no matter how hard you try to flick it with your nail, it never comes off? Here’s your tip: take a little piece of Scotch tape and tape it right off. If you don’t want to ruin your makeup, take the piece of tape and stick it somewhere else on your skin and take it off so it’s not so sticky and then touch that glitter and you can remove it without having to like claw your face to death.

The program is designed to educate people about recycling in the bathroom, inspire them to reimagine what empty bathroom products could become through recycling, and ultimately make a small change that holds big potential to positively impact the environment.

BATF: Finally, why is important to you to work with Unilever to raise awareness on recycling? Mai: We have seven billion people in this world and one planet. The average American has about eight plastic bottles that can be recycled in their bathroom. We have to take it beyond just the kitchen — think about the bottles in the bathroom. Think about your body washes, your deodorants, your creams – all these things in plastic containers. It’s not just because it’s good for the planet, but these things can be remade into products that we buy today still: your makeup bags, your hairbrushes, even your kids backyard play sets. They’re all made from recycled plastics. If we all took it a step further, we can save 29 million tons of plastic that end up in landfills every year. It’s unbelievable how much waste we produce. Unilever wants to reward you for doing your part. Just take a picture of any plastic bottles in your bathroom and post it on Instagram or Twitter with hashtag #reimaginethat #sweeps, and Unilever can award you with a prize, which is pretty cool!

Snap a photo of your bathroom recyclables on Twitter or Instagram using #ReimagineThat and #Sweeps to spread the word and be entered for a chance to win reimagined recycled prizes. Details below!

Users must include #ReimagineThat and #Sweeps and tag @UnileverUSA in order to qualify

Jeannie Mai, beauty & fashion expert and co-host of The Real, joins the Unilever “Rinse. Recycle. Reimagine.” movement and shows off how with just a rinse and recycle empty bath and beauty bottles can take on new life and return as new items like her stylish umbrella.

Mai in West Hollywood

The program is designed to educate people about recycling in the bathroom, inspire them to reimagine what empty bathroom products could become through recycling, and ultimately make a small change that holds big potential to positively impact the environment.

Snap a photo of your bathroom recyclables on Twitter or Instagram using #ReimagineThat and #Sweeps to spread the word and be entered for a chance to win reimagined recycled prizes. Details below!

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Photos: Casey Rodgers/AP Images for Unilever

Neutrogenathrew their annual holiday party Monday night, which IMO is one of the best with their mix of beauty stations and festive bites and decor — it looked like a straight up winter wonderland with all the glitter and white at Paintbox in SoHo where they held it. The event, in partnership with Rogaine, Rembrandt, and Band-Aid, had none other than brand ambassador Emma Roberts in attendance who’s been recently making waves in FX’s American Horror Story. Roberts, who rivals Kristen Bell in the tiniest person I’ve ever interviewed category, was game to talk to me about her no-makeup philosophy (trust me, you want to know because she’s just as glowing in real life), and some beauty tips she’s picked up just being on set.

Emma Roberts shares her beauty tips!

Beauty and the Feast: First of all, your skin is flawless! Tell me a little bit about your skincare routine. Emma Roberts: I am really all about kind of keeping it simple as far as skincare and makeup. My one must is I always have to have SPF. I feel like when winter comes around, people stop using sunscreen and to me, that’s the biggest faux pas. For me, it’s all about taking your makeup off at night because anytime I break out is when I go to bed with makeup on. I always regret it and I’m always mad at myself when I do that so I keep Neutrogena’s Makeup Remover Cleansing Wipeseverywhere— in my purse, in my carry-on, on set, in my bathroom – I just have so many packs of them because I know otherwise I won’t take it off. BATF: What is something you’re really bad about with your upkeep?Roberts:I hate washing my hair. You have to like wash my hair for me. I will dry shampoo my hair for three days. There are times that my boyfriend has been like, ‘Em, you gotta wash your hair.’ BATF: Really?? Your hair is so shiny and healthy looking.Roberts: I just got it done – it didn’t look like this before, trust me.BATF: What’s your go-to makeup look?Roberts: I’m all about curling my lashes, and using mascara. I use the Healthy Lengths and Healthy Volumeones, and on my face, I use Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup. I actually don’t do full face, I use it as concealer under my eyes and dab on problem spots because I don’t really love the look of a full face of foundation. I do a little bronzer, and one of the Moisture Smooth Color Sticks because they’re so sheer and then I’m good to go. When I’m not working, I literally don’t even wear makeup. I think it’s important to let your skin breathe and to look like yourself sometimes. I feel so many younger girls wear makeup every single day. I think it’s important to be comfortable with how you look without it.

Emma Roberts favorite products

BATF: Do you have any tips on how looking more awake when you’re tired?Roberts: I always have to drink a lot of water when I’m feeling tired. I also put spoons in the fridge and in the morning place them under my eyes, on top of my eyes, everywhere. BATF: Do you have any tips you picked up just from being in the makeup chair on set? Roberts: Just learning how to blend is what I learned, because it’s hard to know how to do without someone showing you. I’m better now at looking at all angles in the mirror. BATF: I always feel like we get great tips from our mothers — what was your mom’s biggest piece of beauty advice to you?Roberts: My mom hasn’t worn makeup a day in her life! She would just tell me to exfoliate my face and body and to moisturize, which are good tips especially for winter. I love making a brown sugar scrub. I always look online for recipes for that. I always use a scrub then shave and my skin gets so luxuriously soft. BATF: What’s your beauty guilty pleasure? Roberts: Manicures. I love getting manicures and pedicures, and I love going with my mom, friends or my sister. There’s nothing better than getting a manicure and reading a magazine. BATF: Any colors do you normally gravitate to? Roberts: I’m always about red, but for the holidays I’m into doing more silver and golds instead. I’m trying to be more festive with my color choices.

Thanks to Emma Roberts and Neutrogena for the interview!
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